Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylus
seems 1 i is acceptable.

and /edit - What has 16 arms and 1 I ?
A pair of Octopi.

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

Oh snap, that was funny. It even rhymes!

I also learned that you can't mix Greek and Latin suffix, but people do all the time, and its English, not Greek or Latin, so....

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

That kid from Texas is wrong here, sharpness and hardness is what primarily determines scratching potential not whether something is polished - for example needles scratch because they are made of hard material not because they are unpolished on the contrary they are highly polished.

----

Re making it, you won't even need a hobby shop - here are truncated instructions for those with time on hand to waste.

You will need roughly two hours and some natural predisposition for tinkering, another stylus (to make a mold), a glue gun, some epoxy and a few other common household items, exacto or utility knife, some sand paper, etc.

1) First stick a piece of (relative thick) scotch tape (packing type for example) or some other tape onto the flat part of the stylus.

2) Place the assembly on a flat surface. Spray it with WD-40 or something similar to facilitate mold removal. Remove any excess liquid (make it just shiny, not dripping).

3) Dispense (slowly, carefully, bead on the top, in several layers) hot glue (hi-temp type) from your glue gun. Roughly 1/2 normal stick or 1.5 mini sticks worth to give your mold some heft.

If you do it carelessly you will end up with lots of air bubbles as seen in the photo below. Those will produce barnacle like protrusions in your cast but that's not a problem they are easy to remove with a sharp knife.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...1&d=1223007635

4) Wait for it to cool dow to RT, remove the tape. and remove the original (very slowly starting at the top) trying not to stretch the mold too much (refrigerating the assembly first helps).

5) Make sure your mold sits perfectly horizontally (sit it on some fabric), smear some WD-40 on it again, mix some epoxy (slowly, skillfully if you want to avoid air bubbles) and fill your mold again slowly to avoid entrapping some air. Use something sharp to ensure there is no air bubble trapped in the tip area.

Don't overfill, don't underfill the cavity.

Two part "delayed settling time" (it's stronger) epoxy sold in Home Depot for $3 is fine (double syringe type). If you want something black use http://cgi.ebay.com/Epoxy-Casting-Re...3286.m20.l1116 for example.

6) Let it sit (cure) sufficiently long to develop full strength (24hr in the case of HD epoxy).

7) remove from the mold, cut away any "barnacles" (if present) and trim (de-burr) the edges (back side of exacto knifes or any utility knife blades or scissors work best).

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...1&d=1223007635

8) Finally the tip of the original stylus has a distinct taper to it (roughly 10 degrees). This will not be properly reproduced in your cast, use a medium file to shape the tip area. Finish the tip with some medium sand paper.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...1&d=1223007635

9) Check in your n800, if sticks use the back side of the exacto knife to gently scrape (lengthwise) some material until it doesn't.

DONE. Or make another one from the same mold.


http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...1&d=1223007635


The epoxy is too soft to scratch even the unprotected screen.


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Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

That's really cool, making plastic doo-dads using a glue gun and some epoxy.

Hm, I think I'll try making a reproduction of my entire body that way. I just have to make sure I coat all of the important bits with enough WD-40.

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

I don't feel this is cool, Nokia sort of forces your hand here if you object to having to pay $26 for a replacement stylus. So maybe somebody can start making them for sale on eBay or something (feel free to use my clumsy scheme above as your starting point). I'm willing to pay up to 5 bucks a piece plus some nominal s/h (<$5) in 3pc quantity if done in black. Any takers, TexRat for example?

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

No, I'm correct... and haven't been a kid for decades (but thanks).

If you leave the tip of a stylus sharp, and use it on the soft touchscreen, it WILL scratch... just like using a smooth tip with dust stuck to it will scratch.

And you completely missed what I meant by the stylus tip being polished. Here's a hint: sure, a needle's BODY is polished, but what about its point? Ah, it's SHARP-- just like a homemade stylus might be UNLESS its tip is polished smooth.

But thanks for the laugh, nonetheless. And just ignore my advice about making your stylus tips smooth. I'm sure they're fine right out of the mold. :rolleyes:

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

Well, I think it would be a little silly to manufacture them that way if you could just import them for $2; I'll let you know how it turns out, but unless these guys are a ripoff, they'd be a much more suitable source.

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

Yes, if somebody has any connection to HK or mainland China kids taht make living by selling crap on eBay this is an excellent business possibility, just locate some 3rd rate plastic injection business in PRC, provide them with a sample, and order a short run of say 2K. The cost should be significant below $1 a piece (even US short run orders can be below 2k) . Then sell them on eBay for $5 apiece. 500% return on the original 2k investment. Heck if somebody can provide me with a contatct with with some cheap PRC plastic injection business I may as well go into the business myself. Any China kids in some poor Chinese locale reading this? PM me. There will be something in it for you.

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

I have received them. They don't ship internationally, so I had my parents bring them when they visited. I have received them and they are the genuine article. Swear.

Re: N800 Stylus replacement
 

Dude.. this should be posted in MAKE magazine or something.